The IRTE Northern Centre held its annual dinner dance at its new venue, the Dunkenhalgh Hotel Accrington, on Saturday 29 October.
Once again, the near sell-out IRTE Northern Centre annual dinner dance was a great success, with industry partners, IRTE members and representatives from head office in London all in attendance.
Hon Secretary Neil Mitchell again hosted and compèred the evening, where members and guests enjoyed a three-course meal, a charity raffle and an auction, followed by games, music and dancing until well after midnight.
The evening’s proceedings kicked off with a welcome from Hon Chairman Sam Archer, who thanked everyone for their attendance and in particular the table sponsors for their continued support.
Northern Centre Official and Head of IRTE Services Chris Grime then presented John Eastman – who along with Daniel Moir was representing SOE/IRTE Head Office on the evening – with a Northern Centre plaque, to commemorate his first visit to the regional hub.
The post-dinner entertainment then kicked off with an X Factor-style "dance-off", where guests took to the floor to show off their moves.
It was the team from JDS Trucks in Blackburn who fought off the competition to take the 2022 trophy home with them.
As in previous years, the IRTE Northern Centre's Committee invited the fundraising team from the Northwest Air Ambulance to attend the event and, alongside compère Neil Mitchell, they were delighted to see so many donations flood in.
The night was rounded off with dancing until the small hours – and the positive feedback from members and guests alike suggests that the 2023 bash could be even bigger and better.